Chevy Allegedly Wants To Kill The Impala Again

According to a report, both the Chevrolet Sonic and Impala will die swift and unceremonious deaths due to a shrinking demand for passenger cars along with their paper-thin profit margins. The reports that Chevrolet will end production of the subcompact Sonic as early as this year. Sources claim the move is part of a broader push by Detroit auto executives to pad profitability. GM hasn’t confirmed anything at this point either way.

Allegedly, GM is also looking at putting the Chevrolet Impala on ice as it limps along in low-volume limbo. Meanwhile, the Chevy Traverse, which shares a platform with the Impala, dwarfs the sedan in terms of both sales and profit margin. The decision would kill the 61-year-old nameplate once and for all–even if it did take a brief hiatus in the '90s. GM isn’t the only one mentioned. We already knew Ford won’t bring the new Fiesta to the United States, but now the company is allegedly planning to end production of both the Taurus and the Fusion. Besides bad math, the Sonic also suffers from being a superfluous product among GM’s small-car offerings.

It’s not much bigger than the Spark hatchback, yet it’s noticeably smaller than the Cruze, which is also offered in both hatchback and sedan configurations. GM builds the Sonic at its Orion Assembly plant in Michigan, which is also the home of the low volume Chevrolet Bolt EV. Combined with GM's announcement last month, it looks as if GM wants to turn Orion into a dedicated EV and autonomous assembly plant as it ramps up plans for a self-driving, all-electric, fun-less, future!